FROM July through to October, the School of Concrete Technology will present its popular SCT20 – Concrete Practice training course in Durban, Cape Town, and Midrand.
The course provides vital training to ensure best practice and economical concrete works on site.
Senior lecturer at the school, John Roxburgh, said the pandemic had led to rampant cost-cutting in the building industry. This often leads to neglecting sound site practice which determines concrete performance and infrastructural safety and durability.
Saving costs is commendable, Roxburgh noted, but not by sacrificing site expertise. Only contractors with a full grasp of concrete technology can balance pricing and maintain their company’s credibility.
“A trained concrete practitioner is needed to assess the quality of the concrete supplied. The concreting team must know how the concrete is transported on site, which placement and compaction methods to adopt, and ensure that the curing system and staff are fully equipped,” Roxburgh said.
A trained concrete team would be able to prevent segregation in the concrete both through mix design and handling, and would know how to prevent crack formation and how to achieve quality finishing and curing of the concrete.
“Property-owners whose structures fail prematurely are not likely to entrust more work to under-performing contractors. The cost implications are too important for developers and, for the contractors concerned, such failures could mean the end of their business.
“That is why the School of Concrete Technology’s SCT20 – Concrete Practice course is such a vital training tool to ensure the best site practice for concrete works. It provides trainees with essential concrete technology concepts and theoretical background to implement trustworthy and proven methods of dealing with concrete on site,” Roxburgh said.
The SCT20 – Concrete Practice training course is recommended for foremen, clerks of work, technicians, supervisors, sales and technical staff.
Topics covered in course, include:
- Properties of fresh concrete at various stages.
- Mix proportion and quantities.
- Concrete production and transport.
- Placing, compacting, protecting and curing of concrete.
- Formwork and reinforcement.
- Concreting in cold and hot weather.
- Defects and repairs.
- Low-density and pre-stressed concrete.
- Off-shutter and architectural finishes.
- Precast concrete.
The four-day course will be presented in:
- Durban from 25-28 July.
- Cape Town from 5-8 September.
- Midrand from 20 -23 June, 29 August-1 September, and 17-20 October.
For more information about the course, call: 011 315 0300, email: sct@cemcon-sa.org.za or visit: www.cemcon-sa.org.za
